Post top-mounted luminaire



Aug. 26, 1969 R TQCKWELL ET AL 3,463,917

POST TOP-MOUNTED LUMINAIRE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 14, 1967 ATTORNEYS Aug. 26, 1969 B. R. STOCKWELL ET AL 3,463,917

POST TOP-MOUNTED LUMINAIRE Filed Feb. 14, 1967 v s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS flaw/weak rue/(wen fizz/ g 144M 723N170 aw ATTORNEY Aug. 26, 1969 STOCKWELL ET AL 3,463,917

POST TOP-MOUNTED LUMINAIRE Filed Feb. 14, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,463,917 POST TOR-MOUNTED LUMINAIRE Bernard R. Stockwell, Sunbury, and Frank Van Steenhoven, Newark, Ohio, assignors to Holophane Company, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 616,052 Int. Cl. F21s 1/10 US. Cl. 2403 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A luminaire which is mounted on top of a post and in which the ballast units are individual housings corresponding in number to the number of lamps used in the luminaire. The ballast units are interposed between the post and the base of the lamps proper to increase the area illuminated by the luminaire.

The present invention relates to post top-mounted luminaires and, more particularly, to post top-mounted outdoor luminaires of the type employing vapor discharge lamps, and to support arrangements for such luminaires.

In prior art luminaire arrangements, the lamp unit is usually mounted either directly at the top of the post or is supported directly by or from an intermediate pole adapter member or attachment assembly which is mounted at the top of the pole. In one prior unsymmetrical arrangement the lamp unit was supported by a pair of laterally offset arms secured to a pole adapter.

In the case where the lamp was a vapor discharge lamp, such as a mercury vapor lamp, the associated electrical ballast core coils and capacitors in the past have been housed either inside an integral base portion of the lamp unit itself, or inside such pole adapter member, or lower down along the length of the post, or near the bottom of the post.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved post top-mounted luminaire arrangement.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved post top-mounted luminaire arrangement wherein, given a post of predetermined standard height, one or more vapor discharge lamp units are supported at a greater height above the bottom of the post than heretofore possible without employing laterally offset support arms or other means adversely affecting the stability of the assembly.

It is another object of the invention to provide novel means for increasing the effective height of a post of given length employed in a post top-mounted luminaire assembly.

It is still another object to provide novel means for increasing the total area or total effective area of illumination provided by post top-mounted luminaires for a given post length and a given size or power rating of the lamp or lamps employed therein.

Still another object of the invention consists in the provision of a post top-mounted luminaire which can easily be converted from a luminaire having one lamp to a luminaire having two, three or more lamps.

These and other objects of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in Which:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of a post top-mounted luminaire assembly for a single vapor discharge lamp and with a single ballast unit;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of a luminaire assembly with two vapor discharge lamps;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are top views similar to that of FIGURE 2 but of luminaire assemblies with three and four lamps, respectively;

ICE

FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged plan view, with parts broken away, taken along the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7 and showing the adapter section of the top-mounted luminaire assembly with a photoelectric control unit therein, said section being shown rotated by from the position in FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary elevation of the adapter section and photoelectric control unit of FIG. 8.

One aspect of the present invention consists in that the plural ballast means are utilized for increasing the height of the luminaire above the ground to a higher level to thereby provide increased height necessitated by additional luminosity.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, in which similar reference numerals identify corresponding parts throughout the several embodiments, in FIG. 1 a luminaire 10 is shown including a reflector 11 and refractor 12. The luminaire is supported by a post 13 through the intervention of an adapter 14, a ballast housing 15, and a base 16.

The interior of the luminaire and supporting structure is shown in detail in FIG. 6. Adapter 14 is mounted on top of post 13 and is removably secured thereto by screws 17. Adapter 14 has substantially vertically extending upper walls 18 ending in peripheral edges 20. Ballast housing 15 rests with a lower peripheral edge portion 21 on edges 20 and contains the electrical ballast means 22 including two capacitors 23, 24 held together by a clip 25.

Ballast housing 15 ends in an upper edge portion 26 which supports base 16 of a lamp fixture 28 receiving a vapor discharge lamp 27. Base 16, ballast housing 15 and adapter 14 are held together by four bolts 29 and nuts 30. As shown in FIG. 6, bolts 29 are screwed into threaded bores 31 of base 16 and passed through bores in interior brackets 32 of adapter 14.

Refractor 12 may be fixed to base 16 by any suitable means, as, for instance, by a ring 33 and screws 34 passed therethrough and screwed into a flange 35 of base 16. Reflector 11 is connected to refractor 12 by means of an intermediate ring 37 which is held unto the marginal area 12a of refractor 12 by a plurality of brackets 38 and screws 39 (only one being shown in FIG. 6). The connection between ring 37 and reflector 11 is formed, on one hand, by a bracket 40 pivotally supporting a member 41 connected to reflector 11 and, on the other hand, by a snap connection 42. By opening snap connection 42 it is possible to tilt reflector 11 back and gain access to lamp 27 in order to replace the same.

In conformity with the present invention a plurality of luminaires may be mounted on top of post 13, as for instance, two luminaires 43 (FIG. 2), three luminaires 44 (FIG. 3) and four luminaires 50 to 53 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The number of ballast housings 15 increases directly proportional with the number of luminaires. In other words, two luminaires have two ballast housings 15, three luminaires three ballast housings, etc.

The inner structure of a post top-mounted luminaire assembly with four luminaires is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 7 through 9. Instead of one ballast housing for the luminaire assembly of FIGS. 1 and 6 now four ballast housings 15 are provided (only partly shown in FIG. 7).

Each ballast housing 15 contains the electrical ballast means 22, including two capacitors 23, 24 held together by a clip 25, for the respective luminaire 50, 51, 52 or 53.

The uppermost ballast housing 15 supports a base 54. Adapter 14, the four ballast housings 15 and base 54 are held together by four bolts 55 in a manner similar to that described in connection with FIG. 6. Base 54 has connected thereto, for instance, by screws 56 four supporting arms 57 for the four luminaires 50 to 53. Each supporting arm 57 forms a housing 58 at its respective free end for receiving the supporting structure 59 for a socket 60 of a vapor discharge lamp 61. In a manner similar to that described in connection with FIG. 6, each housing 58 has connected thereto a refractor 12 (only partly shown in FIG. 7).

Supporting arms 57 are equipped with plugs 57a which may be inserted in sockets 57b to provide electrical connection between the ballast housings and the lamps, the connections between plug 57a and lamp socket 60 and between socket 57b and the respective ballast housing being indicated at 57c and 57d, respectively.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show sections through the adapter 14 of FIG. 7. A photo-control unit 70 is suitably mounted within adapter 14, for instance by screws 70a, and supports a prism 71. Prism 71 is mounted in unit 70 to allow face 72 of the prism to receive light rays through an aperture 73. The angular position of prism 72 may be varied by a setting screw 74. Light received by prism 72 is directed to a light sensitive cell 75 which will operate a switch 76 as soon as a predetermined amount of light has been received by cell 75. Switch 76 is connected to unit 70 by screws 77 and is operable to actuate switching means 78 for turning on and oil the vapor discharge lamps 61 of the four luminaires.

Each of the ballast housings 15 is provided with an access door 80 (FIG. 6) sufliciently wide to permit the insertion or withdrawal of the contents of the respective ballast housing 15. Access door 80 may be connected to the respective housing wall of the ballast housing by means of screws 81 or, if desired, may be snapped onto ballast housing 15.

A simplified modification of the adapter of FIGS. 7 to 9 is shown in FIG. 6. In this modification there is no provision made for a photoelectric control unit, but there is merely a wiring strip 84 establishing electrical connection between an electrical main and the electrical components in ballast housing 15. For reasons of simplicity the main and the connections have not been shown since they do not form a part of the present invention and are conventional with luminaire assemblies. Adapter 14 is accessible from the outside through a door 82 removably secured to adapter 14 by screws 83.

Over heretofore known luminaires in which the ballast means are close to the ground in the post far away from the lamps the ararngement according to the present invention has the advantage that the ballast means are close to the lamps thus requiring a minimum of wiring cable.

However, the main advantage consists in that the present arrangement makes possible the employment of the building block principle in the assembly of outdoor luminaires. The ballast housings may be prewired and quickly mounted one on top of the other on the post. Furthermore, the arm members (in the case of two or more lamps) may be pre-assembled and plugged into the central base member. In other words, the entire luminaire may be installed in a minimum of time, and the ballast housings, adapters and arm members can be used interchangeably.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular constructions shown in the drawing but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed:

1. In a post top-mounted luminaire assembly having lamp means and a post, adapter means having a lower portion adapted to be removably secured to said post substantially at its top and having an upper housing portion formed with substantially vertically extending exterior wall portions terminating substantially at a peripheral upper edge portion, at least one ballast housing means adapted to receive electrical ballast means for said lamp means and located entirely above said post and having substantially vertically extending exterior wall portions which terminate substantially in a peripheral upper edge portion and which terminate substantially in a peripheral lower edge portion removably supported on said upper edge portion of said adapter means, the horizontal transverse outside dimensions of said housing means being substantially the same as those of said upper housing portion of said adapter means, base means for supporting said lamp means and including a peripheral lower edge portion removably supported on said upper edge portion of the uppermost one of said ballast housing means, and means for releasably holding together said base means, said ballast housing means and said adapter means, wherein said holding means com prises a plurality of elongated elements which extend substantially vertically from said base means through said ballast housing means to said adapter means, the upper end portion of each of said elements being releasably secured to said base means, the lower end portion of each of said elements being releasably secured to said adapter means.

2. In a post top-mounted luminaire assembly having lamp means and a post, adapter means comprising a lower portion adapted to be removably secured to said post substantially at its top and an upper housing portion having a peripheral upper edge portion, a plurality of ballast housing means each located entirely above said post and each having substantially vertically extending exterior wall portions which terminate substantially in a peripheral upper edge portion and in a peripheral lower edge portion, said lower edge portion of the lowermost one of said ballast housing means being adapted to be removably mounted on said upper edge portion of said adapter means, each of said ballast housing means having substantially the same height and each having substantially the same horizontal transverse outside dimensions so as to be interchangeable with each other, a plurality of electrical ballast means contained respectively within said ballast housing means, a plurality of lamp means, means for electrically coupling respectively said lamp means in circuit with said ballast means, base means for supporting said lamp means and including a peripheral lower edge portion adapted to be removably mounted On said upper edge portion of the uppermost one of said ballast housing means, and means for releasably holding together said base means, said ballast housing means and said adapter means.

3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said holding means comprises a plurality of elongated elements which extend substantially vertically downwardly from said base means through each of said ballast housing means to said adapter means, the upper end portion of each of said elements being releasably secured to said base means, the lower end portion of each of said elements being releasably secured to said adapter means.

4. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said ballast housing means comprises a plurality of interchangeable box-shaped housing members.

5. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said lamp means comprises a pair of lamp units, wherein said ballast housing means comprises a first housing member containing a first electrical ballast unit and a second housing member containing a second electrical ballast unit and having its peripheral lower edge portion mounted on the peripheral upper edge portion of said first housing member, and wherein said base means comprises a central base member having a peripheral lower edge portion mounted on the peripheral upper edge portion of said second housing member, said base means further comprising a pair of arm members radially extending from opposite sides of said central base member fo respectively supporting said pair of lamp units adjacent the outer end portions of said arm members.

6. The combination of claim 2, wherein said lamp means comprises three lamp units, wherein said ballast housing means comprises three housing members containing respectively said electrical ballast means, the third one of said housing members having its peripheral lower edge portion removably mounted on the peripheral upper edge portion of the second one of said housing members, said second housing member having its peripheral lower edge portion removably mounted on the peripheral upper edge portion of the first one of said housing members, and wherein said base means comprises a central base member having a peripheral lower edge portion mounted on the peripheral upper edge portion of said third housing member, said base means also comprising three arm members substantially equally spaced from each other and extending the same distance radially from the sides of said central base member for respectively supporting said lamp units adjacent the outer end portions respectively of said arm members.

7. The combination of claim 2, wherein said lamp means comprises four lamp units and wherein said ballast housing means comprises four housing members containing respectively said electrical ballast means, the fourth, third and second ones of said housing members having their respective peripheral lower edge portions removably mounted respectively on the peripheral upper edge portions, of the third, second and first ones of said housing members, said base means comprising a central base member having a peripheral lower edge portion mounted on the peripheral" upper edge portion of said fourth one of said housing members, said base means also comprising four arm members substantially symmetrically disposed with respect to said central base member and radially extending substantially the same distance outwardly from the sides of said central base member for respectively supporting said lamp units adjacent the outer end portions respectively of said arm members.

8. The combination of claim 7, wherein said lamp means comprises a plurality of vapor discharge lamp units.

' References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,9 7,230 1/1961 Goeti et a1 240 3 3,170,634 2/1965 Harling 240-25 3,218,446 11/1965 Langer 240-3 3,339,065 8/1967 Kelley 240-84XR 3,366,785 1/1968 Huber 240-3 NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner ROBERT P. GREINER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 24()25 

